Lift forming device for book punching machine

ABSTRACT

Precollated sheets and covers to be punched and bound as a book are placed on a conveyor and moved against a series of blades extending along one edge of the conveyor which separates each book into sections, called lifts. These are individually fed to a punching station and then recollated. The punched books are fed to a rotary carrier and wirebound.

' Unite t States Patent [191 Pfaffle 1451 Sept. 11,1973

[54] LIFT FORMING DEVICE FOR BOOK PUNCHING MACHINE [75] Inventor: Ernst Pfaffle,

Neuffen-Wuerttemberg, Germany [73] Assignee: Hans Sickinger Company, Pontiac,

Mich.

221 Filed: Apr. 28, 1972 211 App]; No.: 248,746

[52] US. Cl 214/8.5 F, 2l4/8.5 SS, 93/93 DP [51] lnt.'Cl. 365g 59/12 [58] Field of Search 2l4/8.5 SS, 8.5 F;

[56] References Cited g UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,627,152 12/1971 Pfafiie 2l4/8.5 SS X 3,690,475 9/1972 Pfaffle .1 214/85 SS Primary ExaminerR0bert G. Sheridan Assistant Examiner-George F. Abraham Attorney-Harness, Dickey & Pierce [57] ABSTRACT Precollated sheets and covers to be punched and bound as a book are placed on a conveyor and moved against a series of blades extending along one edge of the conveyor which separates each book into sections, called lifts. These are individually fed to a punching station and then recollated. The punched books are fed to a rotary carrier and wirebound. I

9 Claims, 8 Drawing Figures Patented Sept. 11, 1973 3,757,970

2 Sheets-Sheet 2 LIFT FORMING DEVICE FOR BOOK PUNCIIING MACHINE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The invention relates to machines for manufacturing wirebound books or pads, and in particular to machines which either punch or both punch and bind the books in a continuous manner. Machines of this type are exemplified by the Bielomatik machine manufactured by Hans Biel of Neuffen, West Germany. In such machines, an operator places a group of precut but unbound and unpunched sheets and covers which will form a book on one end of a conveyor which feeds it toward a station separating the book into a plurality of sections, known as lifts, each lift being thin enough to be cleanly punched without any deleterious effects.

From the separator, the lifts are fed serially to a puncher and thence to a collating station which restacks the lifts. The punched books are then fed to a drum-type conveyor which carries them through a succession of stations where the holes are aligned, a spiral wire binder fed through them, and the bound books discharged.

The present invention is particularly concerned with the lift forming station of such a machine or with similar machines in which stacks of sheets are to be punched. v

2. Description of the Prior Art 1 In the previous Bielomatik machine, the lift forming station comprised a finger which was inserted in the trailing end of each unbound book a sufficient distance above the bottom to form a lift. The rest of the book was lifted up by this finger and the bottom lift pushed forward toward the punching station. The finger would then be withdrawn allowing the remaining portion of the book to drop, after which the finger would be reinserted above the new bottom, and this would be repeated until all the lifts had been formed and advanced. This was a relatively slow, cumbersome and expensive mechanism.

BRIEF SUMMARY OFTI-IE INVENTION According to the invention, the lift forming station comprises a plurality of narrow blades placed one above the other along one edge of the conveyor. The book is fed against these blades which split them up into lifts. A gate at the exit ends of the blades is elevated in steps, its movement being coordinated with'a reciprocating lift pusher comprising a weighted lever. This lever rises after each stroke to push successive lifts toward the punching station.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. I is a plan view of the entire machine showing I FIG. 7 is a fragmentary side elevational view of the leading edge of one of the blades taken in the direction of the arrow 7 of FIG. 5; and

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the gate elevating mechanism.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The machine is generally indicated at 21 and is of generally L-shaped construction, having a relatively long first leg generally indicated at 22 and a relatively short second leg generally indicated at 23. An operator 7 stands at the position indicated indot-dash lines at 24 and places books 25 in succession on an endless chain conveyor 26 at the entrance of the machine. Books 25 may comprise a stack of sheets with covers, such as a lined notebook which is to be wirebound. When placed on conveyor 26 book 25 has the proper number of sheets and the two covers cut to size and in the proper arrangement, but the sheets and covers are not punched or bound. Pushers 27 on conveyor 26 move continuously and carry the books to a lift forming station generally indicated at 28, described in detail below. At this station the book is divided into aplurality of lifts or sections, each lift having a thickness or greater than that which can be punched without deleterious effects such as welding together of adjacent sheets. The lifts are indicated at 29 and are fed in succession to a punching station 31 by means of an endless belt conveyor 32. A punch 33 atstation 31 punches holes in each lift. 29 and it is then transferred to a recollating station generally indicated at 34. At this station the lifts 29 for each book 25 are reassembled as punched but unbound books 35. These are transferred to pushers indicated partially at 36 at the comer of legs 22 and 23. The pushers feed books 35 at right angles to their original path and into a drum type of conveyor 37 at a coiling station generally indicated at 38. Con veyor 37 will receive each book 5 at the position marked 39 in FIG. 3 and will rotate the book to a first sub-station 41 where fingers (not shown) will enter the holes-and align the sheets. The next step will be movement of the book to a coiling sub-station 42 where a spiral wire binder will be fed through the holes and the ends cut and bent. Finally, the book will be moved to discharge sub-station 43 and will leave conveyor 37 for a delivery table 44. i

It should be observed that this brief description of machine 21 has omitted a number of components such as guides, joggers, hold-down devices as well as the drives, cams and links which operate the machine.

Lift forming station 28 comprises a bed plate 45 and a pair of reciprocating book pusher 46 which remove books 25 from conveyor 26 and feed them under a hold-down spring 47 against a separator generally indicated -at 48. This separator is mounted along one side of leg 22 and comprises a plurality of elongated blades one above the other, these blades being generally indicated at 29. Each blade is made up of two contiguous parts, a first part 51 carried by a block 52 and a second I part 53 formed as part of a block 54.

Each blade portion 51 has an extension 55 in a slot 56 of block 52 and a second portion 57 in an opening 58 of this block. Slots 56 converge in a direction toward the oncoming book 25 so that the ends 59 of blade portions 55 which receive book 25 are closer together than the portions in the slots 56. Blade portions 53 are in parallel relation and the slots 60 between them will accommodate lifts 29.

Ends 59 of blade portions 51 are angled as indicated at 61 in FIG. 5 and have razor-like edges as shown in FIG. 7 which will enter book 25 at the proper vertical spacing to create the correct thicknesses of lifts 29. The spacing between ends 59 of blade portions 51 is adjustable by means of set screws 62 which are mounted in block 52 and are threaded into adjusting blocks 63 which are in space 58, one adjusting block being placed below extension 57 of each blade portion 51. Extensions 57 are in staggered relation shown in FIG. -5. Blade portions 51 are of spring-like material and have a tendency to press down against blocks 63, turning of screws 62 counteracting this spring-like tendency to elevate ends 59 to their proper heights.

Book pushers 46 will push book 25 past blade portions 51 and into the slots 60 between blade portions 53, which extend past the beginning of belts 32. The book will be held in spaces 60 by a side guide 64. A triangular plate 65 partially overlaps the entrance of belts 32 to assure proper feeding of the lifts as described below.

The means for individually removing successive lifts 29 from blade portions 53 comprises a lift pusher 66 pivoted at 67 to a horizontally reciprocating member 68. Pusher 66 has a shoulder 69 at its forward end the height of which is equal to a slot 60, and a surface 70 extending from shoulder 69 which will come to rest under each lift, as urged by a weight 71 at the opposite end of the pusher. After each book 25 is pushed into position between blade portions 53, pusher 66 will reciprocate a sufficient member of times to discharge each successive lift from slots 60, beginning with the bottom lift. The lifts will thus be successively placed onto belts 32, being aided by a downwardly sloping guide 72. The next book to be pushed onto blades 49 will ride over pusher 66, the latter then swinging back into position for readiness for pushing the next series of lifts.

Means are provided for preventing lifts 29 from being dragged out of slots 60 until their proper turn. It will be noted that the lifts are separated only along one edge but that their main portions rest on each other, so that the advancing of the undermost lift by pusher 66 would tend to drag the other lifts along with it. The restraining means comprises a gate 73 extending vertically adjacent the exit ends of slots 60. Gate 73 is in the form of a rod which is engaged by the leading edges of the lifts to restrain them from further forward movement. The

gate is elevated in a step-by-step manner which is coordinated with the reciprocating movement of pusher 66. During the first stroke of this pusher, the bottom of gate 73 is just above the lowermost lift so that only this lift can be discharged. As pusher 66 is retracted until its shoulder 69 clears the trailing edges of the lifts, and swings clockwise in FIG. 4 to engage the next lift, gate 73 will be elevated one notch, thus being withdrawn from the path of the next lift to be discharged. This stepwise elevating of gate 73 will continue until the last lift is discharged after which the gate will drop to its original position in readiness for the next book.

The timing of the movement of the pusher 66 and gate 73 with respect to movement of the other parts of machine 21 will be controlled by appropriate cams and gears (not shown), the gears being interchangeable for different thicknesses of books 25. For example, if book 25 is relatively thin and is being divided into only two lifts 29, pusher 66 will reciprocate twice for each reciprocation of pushers 46, gate 73 being elevated accordingly. If five lifts are involved for each book, the reciprocation ratio will be 5 to l. V

The means for elevating gate 73 is perhaps best seen in FIGS. 1 and 8. The gate is carried by a bar 74 extending parallel to blades 49 and supported by a pair of Z- shaped arms 75 and 76. These arms are secured to a shaft 77 rotatably mounted in blocks 78 and 79 secured to a machine 21. A downwardly extending toothed rack 81 is secured to arm 75 and is engageable by an elevating pawl 82 and a holding pawl 83. Paw] 82 is carried by arm 84 which is periodically elevated in synchronism with the reciprocation of pusher 66, the length of stroke of pawl 82 being equal to the pitch of the teeth on rack 81. Pawl 83 is weighted or otherwise urged to rest against the ratchet teeth so that each time pawl 82 is reciprocated it will lift the next tooth onto pawl 83. The tooth pitch is equal to the thickness of a slot 60 so that gate 73 will be successively elevated to release the lifts.

Means are provided for dropping gate 73 after all the lifts of each book have been discharged. This means includes a tripping pin 85 engageable with the undersides of pawls 82 and 83 to disengage them from rack 81. Pin 85 is secured to an arm partially seen at'86 carried by a rockable shaft 87 rotatably mounted in blocks 78 and 79. The rocking of shaft 87 will be synchronized with the reciprocation of pushers 46.

In operation, each book 25 will be advanced by pushers 27 against the edges 61 of blades 49 and will be separated into lifts between blade portions 53. With gate 73 lifted into nonobstructing relation with the lowermost lift, pusher 66 will be advanced, pushing this lift onto belts 32. Gate 73 will then be elevated to clear the next lift, pusher 66 being retracted until its shoulder 69 clears the trailing edge of the book, permitting surface 70 to engage the next lift. Pusher 66 will again be advanced, and this action will continue until all the lifts have been discharged from the lift forming station.

What is claimed is:

l. A lift forming mechanism for a machine which punches books, comprising a conveyor for said books, a series of spaced blades extending along one side of said conveyor, a book pusher forcing said book against said blades whereby the blades will enter one edge of said book and divide the book into lifts, a lift pusher engageable successively with said lifts to push the lifts out of the slots between said blades, and a gate movable step by step in synchronism with the reciprocation of said lift pusher to restrain the lifts not being pushed.

2. The combination according to claim 1, said blades having first portions which converge with their book entrance edges relatively close together, and second portions in parallel relation.

3. The combination according to claim 2, further provided with means for adjusting the spacing between said book entrance edges.

4. The combination according to claim 3, said adjusting means comprising screw-adjustable blocks engaging extensions on said first blade portions, the latter being of spring-like material to engage said blocks.

5. The combination according to claim 1, said lift pusher comprising a pivoted lever having a surface engageable with the underside of each lift and a shoulder engageable with the trailing edge of the lift, and means urging said lever into engagement with the lifts.

6. The combination according to claim 5, said lastmentioned means comprising a weight at the end of said lever opposite said surface and shoulder.

7. The combination according to claim 1, said gate comprising a vertically positioned rod, and gate lifting means comprising a rack connected to said rod, a first pawl reciprocably mounted adjacent said rack to lift the rack in step-by-step fashion, and a holding pawl engageable with the rack to hold it in each successive elevated position. a

8. The combination according to claim 7, further provided with means engageable with said pawls to clear said rack and permit the gate to drop to its initial position.

9. The combination according to claim 1, said blades having first portions with their book entrance ends relatively close together and flaring toward second portions which are in parallel relation, said lift pusher comprising a pivoted lever having a surface engageable with the underside of each successive lift and a shoulder engageable with the trailing edge thereof. i I! i 

1. A lift forming mechanism for a machine which punches books, comprising a conveyor for said books, a series of spaced blades extending along one side of said conveyor, a book pusher forcing said book against said blades whereby the blades will enter one edge of said book and divide the book into lifts, a lift pusher engageable successively with said lifts to push the lifts out of the slots between said blades, and a gate movable step by step in synchronism with the reciprocation of said lift pusher to restrain the lifts not being pushed.
 2. The combination according to claim 1, said blades having first portions which converge with their book entrance edges relatively close together, and second portions in parallel relation.
 3. The combination according to claim 2, further provided with means for adjusting the spacing between said book entrance edges.
 4. The combination according to claim 3, said adjusting means comprising screw-adjustable blocks engaging extensions on said first blade portions, the latter being of spring-like material to engage said blocks.
 5. The combination according to claim 1, said lift pusher comprising a pivoted lever having a surface engageable with the underside of each lift and a shoulder engageable with the trailing edge of the lift, and means urging said lever into engagement with the lifts.
 6. The combination according to claim 5, said last-mentioned means comprising a weight at the end of said lever opposite said surface and shoulder.
 7. The combination according to claim 1, said gate comprising a vertically positioned rod, and gate lifting means comprising a rack connected to said rod, a first pawl reciprocably mounted adjacent said rack to lift the rack in step-by-step fashion, and a holding pawl engageable with the rack to hold it in each successive elevated position.
 8. The combination according to claim 7, further provided with means engageable with said pawls to clear said rack and permit the gate to drop to its initial position.
 9. The combination according to claim 1, said blades having first portions with their book entrance ends relatively close together and flaring toward second portions which are in parallel relation, said lift pusher comprising a pivoted lever having a surface engageable with the underside of each successive lift and a shoulder engageable with the trailing edge thereof. 